Tuesday marks the five-year anniversary of the Capitol riots 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) tonight joined his Senate Democratic colleagues in holding the floor to honor the law enforcement who protected the Capitol during the January 6, 2021 insurrection, and warn against the Trump Administration’s continued attack on our democracy.  

“This day is a day of commemoration for those who served us, but it’s also got to be a day of accountability and assessment about what happened and how. And it can’t be whitewashed, because the current President has support and was elected—he does, we’ve accepted that, those of us who didn’t vote for him. But that does not whitewash, it doesn’t exonerate, it doesn’t erase what he did to cause this insurrection. He played the major role in this, and it’s forever going to be a stain on that President,” said Senator Welch. 

Watch Senator Welch’s full remarks below:  

“I want to express today what I think all of us feel. That is a deep appreciation for the men and women who serve on the Capitol police force, the Metropolitan police force, and other authorities who came to the assistance…,” Senator Welch began. 

Welch continued, “This is the United States of America. We have a peaceful transfer of power. We win elections, we lose elections. But it’s the people of this country who decide who the winner is—not politicians, not a mob attacking the Capitol. And this is a blessing that all of us have been bequeathed by those who came before us: the peaceful transfer of power…Two things happened that have never happened: an assault on the Capitol, and the effort to overturn the results of an election and thwart the peaceful transfer of power. That’s on Donald Trump—and I want to say that explicitly, uncomfortable as that may be.  

Earlier today, Senator Welch reflected on the fifth anniversary of the insurrection, saying in-part: 

“The attack on the Capitol itself happened five years ago, but the threat to our democracy continues today. Whether our democracy will endure is still an open question. Donald Trump caused the insurrection. He invited rioters to come to Washington; he encouraged the mob to attack the Capitol; he was the major instrumental cause in bringing them to the Capitol that day. Now, President Trump is rewriting history and erasing the insurrection. His enablers in Congress turned their backs on justice, standing with the President as he pardoned and commuted sentences for the rioters who attacked police officers and spread lies about the outcome of the 2020 election.” 

Senator Welch also attended a bicameral roundtable alongside Reps. Norma Torres (D-CA-35), Jason Crow (D-CO-06), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), and former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn to reflect on five years since the January 6th insurrection. 

Senator Welch is a cosponsor of the No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act and No Settlements for January 6 Law Enforcement Assaulters Act, legislation that would prevent the Trump Administration from handing out millions in taxpayer funds to Capitol rioters. 

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